Extended Warranty and Servicing for Giulia?

[malbooth]

Hi,
I have a couple of questions as my Guilia is soon to come out of warranty, after the first three years of free service.

Firstly I've been offered a three year extended warranty for a little over $3,000. That will include free roadside assistance, but not regular serving and maintenance. Someone I know who used to service my car at Leichardt Fiat-Alfa has told me that it is a wise option because of the many computerised components on the car that can suddenly need replacement at a cost of $2-3k+, e.g. the gear box, engine systems monitoring, entertainment system, etc.

Secondly, I had intended to start taking the Giulia to my local mechanic who used to look after my old Giulietta QV. I've been told that because he is not likely to have access to the regular software updates that is not the best option and I should continue together the car serviced at an approved Alfa service centre.

I don't really drive the car that much and have only travelled about 12,000 kms in three years (I live near the city and tend to walk everywhere).

I'd appreciate any advice that members have to offer.

Mal

[As the day goes]

I thought the ACCC stopped the practice whereby Indies could not access authorised diagnostic equipment and download official updates?

[bazzbazz]

Ahh yes, but there is nothing in the legislation to say they have to give it for free.

For example, I spoke to an independent supplier just the other day, and to just get access to the latest official ePer site, so they can get the right part numbers ect to order parts, it costs them $2000 a year. Now when you then add up the costs to access everything else on the site, you also must then work out just how many times an indy will get the a new Giulia/Stelvio in the shop and have to access this data. Until more of these cars drop out of the dealer warranty/service cycle and start going to the indies its all a cost analysis issue and hard to justify.

There are ways around this, but it is time consuming, a huge hassle and sometimes inaccurate.

[malbooth]

Thanks for the replies. Makes sense.

Ahh yes, but there is nothing in the legislation to say they have to give it for free.

For example, I spoke to an independent supplier just the other day, and to just get access to the latest official ePer site, so they can get the right part numbers ect to order parts, it costs them $2000 a year. Now when you then add up the costs to access everything else on the site, you also must then work out just how many times an indy will get the a new Giulia/Stelvio in the shop and have to access this data. Until more of these cars drop out of the dealer warranty/service cycle and start going to the indies its all a cost analysis issue and hard to justify.

There are ways around this, but it is time consuming, a huge hassle and sometimes inaccurate.

[Craig_m67]

This is about your personal comfort level with risk - only you can decide

My thoughts.

Guilia has been out now for >3yrs, there's lots of anecdotal internet data in about failures.  I'm not really aware of any on the Veloce, are you?

Your car has done less than 10% of the mileage that Alfa Australia warrants (risks) themselves.  The warranty in the US and the UK (same car) is 150K miles or a little over 240K km .. so make that 5% of the risk Alfa Romeo (car maker) is comfortable to expose themselves to.  What makes you think you will have a significant failure some 5% into the life of the vehicle?

$3K for a extended warranty seems a lot to me - is it Alfa, or a product from somewhere else (what are the conditions/limits/catches). That said, If you trade in to get a new car (warranty), the cost of depreciation is bound to cost you ten times more.  Let me know if it turns into a Stelvio in Misano blu with sunroof

I'd be inclined to keep the car and "risk" $3K.. but then I'm comfy with high mileage Alfa's, they're reliable in my experience (no big ticket items).  Maybe spend $3k on an electric bike (Specialized) and leave the car in the garage, I walk/jog more each year than you drive

I've not been any help, sorry



TLDR:  Keep the car or if you just don't use it, sell it before it depreciates even more - either way, it's very unlikely to throw a big bill.  And you can always ask Alfa to update software if Bazz etal can't get access to updates.  In my experience indies are very resourceful, better than dealers

[malbooth]

Mmmm, probably a good way of looking at it. The extended warranty isn't an Alfa product and does seem like a lot up front when you put it like that. I've never had one before and wasn't at all familiar with their utility.

This is about your personal comfort level with risk - only you can decide

My thoughts.

Guilia has been out now for >3yrs, there's lots of anecdotal internet data in about failures.  I'm not really aware of any on the Veloce, are you?

Your car has done less than 10% of the mileage that Alfa Australia warrants (risks) themselves.  The warranty in the US and the UK (same car) is 150K miles or a little over 240K km .. so make that 5% of the risk Alfa Romeo (car maker) is comfortable to expose themselves to.  What makes you think you will have a significant failure some 5% into the life of the vehicle?

$3K for a extended warranty seems a lot to me - is it Alfa, or a product from somewhere else (what are the conditions/limits/catches). That said, If you trade in to get a new car (warranty), the cost of depreciation is bound to cost you ten times more.  Let me know if it turns into a Stelvio in Misano blu with sunroof

I'd be inclined to keep the car and "risk" $3K.. but then I'm comfy with high mileage Alfa's, they're reliable in my experience (no big ticket items).  Maybe spend $3k on an electric bike (Specialized) and leave the car in the garage, I walk/jog more each year than you drive

I've not been any help, sorry



TLDR:  Keep the car or if you just don't use it, sell it before it depreciates even more - either way, it's very unlikely to throw a big bill.  And you can always ask Alfa to update software if Bazz etal can't get access to updates.  In my experience indies are very resourceful, better than dealers

[bazzbazz]

I've not been any help, sorry

Been drinking again have we? 

[Craig_m67]

Not then... have now, it's bloody hot

[poohbah]

Its been a long time since I owned a car that was under warranty, so you can take this or leave it.

But $3k to extend the warranty another 3 years sounds like a pretty creative bit of customer gouging by a dealer. If you continue to maintain the car properly after the 3 years, you shouldn't expect any major dramas for at least the next 3.

Every now and then I watch the youtube videos by John Cadogan (YT channel called Auto-Expert) who has done a bunch of items on the ins and outs of warranties and your rights as a consumer.

I'm pretty sure he has made the point more than once that under Australian consumer law you still have ongoing protection for any major component or system that fails before its reasonably expected lifespan (regardless of the official warranty period) - assuming you have maintained the part/system as expected and have not done anything abnormal to shorten its life.

A manufacturer warranty may only be for 3 years, but there is no way a transmission should reasonably be expected to fail within 5-6 years if it has been properly maintained and you haven't been using the car as a tug or drag racer.

I think the proof of that is that most manufacturers now offer 5-7 years as the standard warranty, which pretty much covers the "reasonable" life expectation of most key systems - it makes them look more customer friendly when they'd be on the hook for major issues in that time frame regardless.

The problem is you will likely have to threaten the manufacturer with legal action, and have enough documentary evidence that you done all the recommended servicing, to force them to act outside the warranty period. As you can imagine, their default position is usually to deny any responsibility one second after the warranty has expired.

As for examples, I believe Ford and VW/Audi have been forced to replace failed Powershift and DSG transmissions outside warranty because they had a habit of buggering up basically due to poor design.

Happy to stand corrected if someone is sure that is not right. Regardless it might be worth your time going and searching  Cadogan's videos.

[bonno]

Hi Mal
Interesting responses to a typical question on modern day cars. Cars manufacturers aim is to produce models that have a 10 year service life, based on travelling on average 20,000 Kms per year. To achieve this, it is necessary  that it is regularly serviced iaw the cars service schedule and driven as stipulated in the cars owners manual. The use of indies should not void the manufacturers warranty, as long as they have the necessary tools and competence to do so, specifically relating to make and model. Nowdays with the cars computer and relevant diagnostic equipment/tools, everyday maintenance faults are relatively simple to diagnose. The cost to repair can be expensive depending on cost of parts (OEM) and labour, with big ticket items such as engine or transmission O/H not factored in during the service life of the car. In summary I would not be too concerned with the reliability of your car both in the short and long term. As for the extended warranty option, I consider it unnecessary, as long as the above is adhered to. Additionally, you can find numerous information on the net (videos and forum posts) on the 950 Series model Alfa Romeo.

[bazzbazz]

Nowdays with the cars computer and relevant diagnostic equipment/tools, everyday maintenance faults are relatively simple to diagnose.

Oh really! 

Tell you what, I know of a certain misfire issue in Giulietta's, I'll give you one with it, and all the diagnostic software/equipment you can carry. I'll give you a week and see how you go . . . . . 

[malbooth]

Thanks once again for the thoughtful and helpful responses. I doubt I'll be taking that warranty.
For the time being I will keep the Veloce. It is a pleasure to drive and I've not experienced any issues with it.